schmooze

1 of 2

verb

variants or shmooze
schmoozed or shmoozed; schmoozing or shmoozing

intransitive verb

: to converse informally : chat
also : to chat in a friendly and persuasive manner especially so as to gain favor, business, or connections

transitive verb

: to engage in schmoozing with
she schmoozed her professors
schmoozer noun

schmooze

2 of 2

noun

1
: a gathering or time devoted to schmoozing
2
: casual talk that is often gossipy or ingratiating

Did you know?

Schmooze (also spelled shmooze) comes from Yiddish schmues, meaning "talk," which itself is from Hebrew shěmu’ōth, "news" or "rumor." Although originally used to indicate simply talking in an informal and warm manner, the word now commonly suggests discussion for the purposes of gaining something.

Examples of schmooze in a Sentence

Verb People will have time to schmooze during the cocktail hour. spent every spare minute of the conference schmoozing with the industry's power players Noun had to master the art of the schmooze if she wanted to get ahead in the business
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
After all, why should Manhattanites have to fly all the way to Colorado just to schmooze? Noah Lederman, Robb Report, 27 Feb. 2024 Within the halls of the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall, celebrities schmoozed, had ecstatic reunions, reminisced about their career beginnings and let their guards down, all while basking in the presence of fellow actors. Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2024 Some of you are taking short trips, others are teaching, learning, talking and schmoozing with daily contacts and relatives. Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 13 Feb. 2024 In other words: no writing, no pitching about writing and no talking or schmoozing about said writing. Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2023 The latter pair made the rounds earlier in the evening, schmoozing with Bon Jovi, 2012 MusiCares honoree Paul McCartney and Springsteen. Melinda Newman, Billboard, 3 Feb. 2024 Some of the Trump campaign’s efforts include Trump spending a lot of time schmoozing with state party chairs like the chair of the Nevada Republican party who — after having dinner with Trump — made a lot of changes to the way Republicans run their nominating contest in the state. Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 12 Jan. 2024 After a weekend of schmoozing with the Hollywood elite, Joe Biden departed Los Angeles on Sunday with his reelection campaign more than $15 million flusher. Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Dec. 2023 For business leaders, APEC is an opportunity to schmooze, press their agendas and pontificate about the state of the world. Thomas Black, Fortune, 15 Nov. 2023
Noun
The private event was an industry schmooze par excellence, something like if Jay Gatsby decided to throw an unofficial SXSW showcase, and the tunes, like everything else, were top-shelf. Cat Cardenas, Rolling Stone, 14 Mar. 2024 Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling bro it out, more celebs schmooze In typical Critics Choice fashion, the second the telecast hit a commercial break, stars jumped up from their seats to move to other tables, chatting each other up and posing for pictures. USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024 This is an excellent day to schmooze with partners, close friends and members of the general public. Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 7 Feb. 2024 Raad, still a CNN employee under Licht, was there to schmooze on behalf of the network, but was spotted in RedBird’s VIP area, meeting with Zucker and members of the oil-rich country’s sovereign wealth fund. Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 25 July 2023 Representatives of the Southeastern Conference, including Alabama coach Nick Saban, are in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday to lobby and schmooze members of Congress and their staffers. Joseph Goodman | Jgoodman@al.com, al, 7 June 2023 Mitchell Rudin prefers to schmooze while shooting hoops. Jen Murphy, wsj.com, 29 Apr. 2023 The Arizona senator has reportedly gone on a national tour to schmooze with corporate lobbyists and donors, often of the Republican persuasion, criticizing Democrats and in one instance even flipping off a White House aide while talking about him. Prem Thakker, The New Republic, 23 Mar. 2023 In typical awards show fashion, the celebrity seating area turned into an A-list schmooze-fest the second the broadcast hit a commercial break James Corden weaved between tables, chatting up Olivia Rodrigo, who also took some time to talk to SZA. Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 7 Feb. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'schmooze.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Yiddish shmuesn, from schmues talk, from Hebrew shĕmu'ōth news, rumor

First Known Use

Verb

1888, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun

1895, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of schmooze was in 1888

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near schmooze

Cite this Entry

“Schmooze.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/schmooze. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

schmooze

verb
variants or shmooze
ˈshmüz
schmoozed or shmoozed; schmoozing or shmoozing
: to converse informally : chat
also : to chat in a friendly and persuasive manner especially so as to gain favor, business, or connections
schmoozer
ˈshmü-zər
noun
Etymology

Verb

Yiddish shmuesn "to chat," from Hebrew shĕmu'ōth "news, rumor"

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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